The ExFiles
by Beth - Geek Chick
Summary: Repost - A fling from Auggie's past threatens Annie's life.


**A/N I've tried to just repost all the decent CA stories, putting the others on my LJ site, or just leaving them on my computer. This, to me, is one of the last good multichap fics I've done. Enjoy.**

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><p>Annie tried not to notice the way Auggie increasingly hung onto her as they stood at the bar in the jam-packed tavern. They'd gone there after she'd gotten home from a quick mission overseas. It'd been a tradition of sorts, and Auggie's way of saying welcome home in one piece. He'd buy her a couple of drinks, they'd toast with a shot of Patron, and then make their way back to their respective homes.<p>

Tonight's congratulatory drink between friends, though, got off to a shaky start. Well, maybe not shaky, but Annie knew it'd be a difficult night once she saw the crowd of new graduates that packed the place. She'd murmured to Auggie that maybe they could go somewhere else, but he just laughed and said they'd have one drink and then leave, what's the harm?

So Annie was able to find them a space at the end of the bar. There was only one stool, though, so she perched on it, and Auggie stood by her side, leaning on the bar.

Given the size of the crowd and the constant movement of bodies, he'd had to stand quite close, and that's when it started. She was perched on the stool facing away from the bar, and he'd placed his arm on the short wooden back. Anytime Annie would lean back or to her right, she wound up brushing up against him.

She hadn't minded the light contact at first – it was inevitable in a crowded bar situation. But as the night wore on, Auggie started ordering refills to his beers and a couple of shots. Annie had stuck to her one drink – if only because she didn't fancy a cab drive home.

Why they stayed so long was something Annie would think about later, but at the moment, she didn't mind so much, even if it did mean she again would play designated driver to her inebriated best friend.

After a couple of hours, the impromptu party was in full swing – complete with music from the jukebox, which Annie had never known was there before, and couples beginning to get down and dirty on a suddenly appearing dance floor.

Though she partied as well as the next person, Annie was tired and relatively sober. "Getting down" was just not in the cards for her tonight, and she turned to Auggie to tell him so.

He had just pushed a bill over the length of the bar and accepted another shot, which he gulped hastily. He sensed Annie's gaze on him, and he turned toward her, sliding his arm across the back of her stool further. "Sure you won't partake, Annie?"

"No, Auggie. I have to drive, remember?"

"If you say so," he said, shrugging.

The music slid from a pop-rock to a more electronica, bass-driven beat, and there was a slight rush of bodies to the impromptu dance floor. The music was a tad over-loud, just enough for every person there – including Annie and Auggie – to feel the bass-driven vibration.

Annie groaned at the shift of mood, and she uncrossed her legs to slide off the stool. The time had come for them to leave, but she suddenly felt herself pulled back as her stiletto'd feet hit the floor.

The strong arm around her waist held her as she stumbled a bit, and as she regained her footing, she stiffened at the feel of a male body behind her, his arm firmly planted around her.

"Auggie?" she squeaked out.

"Mm, wanna dance?" Auggie growled somewhere near her ear, and Annie would be lying to herself if she didn't acknowledge the buzz of satisfaction the deep timbre caused. Mixed with the strength of his embrace and the warmth and hardness of his body as he held her against him, Annie had to squeeze her eyes shut, swallow hard and take a deep breath to remind herself that he was drunk, she was not, and had he been sober, this definitely not be happening.

"No, Auggie, I don't," she said, peeling his fingers away from her waist and stepping away from him. "We should head out."

A look of slight disappointment crossed his features, but he nodded in agreement. Intoxicated Auggie was sometimes difficult to handle, and as she didn't have anyone else here to help him into a cab home, she'd have to make sure he got there safe herself.

Tucking his arm into her elbow, she tried to maneuver them through the crowd, but it proved difficult with his coordination impaired. And so, she wrapped her arm around his waist and walked with a determined purpose toward the exit.

They'd made it outside unscathed, and Annie heard Auggie chuckle slightly beside her.

"What's so funny?" she asked, pulling him alongside her toward her car a block down.

"Can't wait to get me home, huh?" he murmured against her hair, turning his body slightly and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Auggie, you're drunk," she reminded him, redoubling her efforts to walk as quickly as she could to her car.

Auggie shook his head against hers, "I'm not so think as you drunk I am."

Annie blinked, then had choked back a giggle. She'd have to remember that one for blackmail purposes later. In fact, his actions and demeanor of coming onto her tonight was going to be stored away for use later when she needed to one-up him. He'd probably half-remember tonight and call her tomorrow, apologizing for his behavior.

He'd only done it once before, and she was able to get him to pay for her lunch for a week in recompense for never uttering a word about it. Tonight's actions, however, surely had some actual monetary value to it, she thought.

She was calculating the appropriate amount when they reached her car. Stopping on the sidewalk, she dug into her coat pocket for her keys. She'd extricated them and was about to press the button to unlock the doors when Auggie's arm around her shoulder clenched, bringing her towards him.

She'd opened her mouth to ask what he was doing when his free hand came up and rested on her jaw, sliding back until it reached her hair. She managed to squeak out the words "What are you –" before his head bent down, and he captured her lips with his own.

As her lips were already parted, Annie felt his tequila-tinged tongue sweep against her bottom lip as he kissed her. The shock of the sudden embrace and alcohol-induced kiss froze her for a few seconds, and Auggie took it as acceptance, pulling her closer and tilting her head slightly with his hand.

When he'd pulled back, he set his forehead against hers and ran a finger along her jaw. "Sure I can't talk you into coming back to my place?" he whispered.

Oh, this is so wrong, Annie thought, as she pulled back from him. "No, Auggie."

Thankfully, he didn't resist as she unlocked the car and pulled her arm out from around him. He just settled in and pulled the door shut. Annie breathed a sigh of relief as she walked around and got into her side.

She didn't even glance at him as she buckled her seatbelt and placed the car into gear, sliding out into traffic. A finger along the back of her hand as it rested on the gear shift, though, momentarily pulled her eyes off the road and to him. His eyes held a look of concern, and he said, "You're mad at me, aren't you?"

Annie sighed, "No, I'm not mad, Auggie. Just had a long day and want to get home."

"My offer still stands," he said, his finger now drawing figure-eights along her wrist.

"I know it does, and I'm very flattered, but all that's going to happen tonight is I'm going to drop you off at your apartment, and then I'm going home," she said, raising her hand off the gear shift and placing his wandering fingers back on his side of the car.

A groan of disappointment emanated from him, but Annie was glad he finally got the message. She wasn't sure what caused his sudden infatuation, but she was glad when he'd relented. He'd been her best friend for a year now, and the thought of taking it to another level – whether it'd be as serious as lovers or as nonchalant as friends with benefits – wasn't something she'd wanted to even acknowledge right now.

Even if that step did occur, the decision wouldn't be made like this, in an alcohol-induced haze. No, their relationship was too important and too dear to Annie to even entertain the idea.

20 minutes later, she was sliding closed the door of Auggie's apartment after walking him in and depositing him on his bed. Breathing a sigh of relief that she'd been able to get him back home safe, she turned and began to walk back to the elevator.

She thought she'd heard a sound behind her, but exhaustion was taking its toll on her senses. Had she not been so tired and her mind not so full of her best friend, perhaps Annie would have been able to catch a glimpse of the person coming up behind her. She might have noticed the shadow in the corner of the hall, and she probably would have been able to use some of her hand-to-hand fighting techniques Auggie had instilled in her.

But being able to take down an opponent or deliver jaw-shattering uppercuts were no match against a fully functional stungun, especially when it's wielded by someone full of hate and jealousy.

A glimpse of movement in her peripheral vision caused Annie to turn her head slightly, but it was perhaps the worse move she could make as her attacker now had full access to the smooth, wide expanse of her neck.

The first touch of the sparking electrodes to the soft skin below her jaw startled Annie, and in a half a second, she felt the pain and jarring loss of muscle control. Her training at the Farm included being shocked by a taser, and a wave of déjà vu washed over her. That test, though, lasted only for a second, and she'd been able to recover.

Her attacker had no such compulsion to release the device from her skin, instead holding it there for several more seconds, deliver kilowatt after kilowatt of electricity into her body. The pain was as such Annie had never felt before, and the coming blackness was a relief against it.

As Annie slumped against the floor, her body still twitching, her attacker stood over her, shaking with glee and satisfaction. Step one was complete. Now for step two. A pair of hands dragged Annie by her arms back to the front of Auggie's door, leaning her up against the steel. A painful moan emitted from the blonde's lips, so with more hurried actions, her attacker unfolded a thick piece of paper and placed it on the blonde's lap.

A long, steady push to Auggie's doorbell so as to make sure the inebriated blind man answered it was the final step, and Annie's attacker crept away, stealing down the steps.

Chapter 2

Annie came to with a jolt, a painful jolt that traveled through her legs and arms – appendages that were still too weak to move. A sharp pain in her neck made her cry out, and she opened her eyes, blinking as the tears of pain and frustration built up. What the hell just happened? She remembered getting Auggie back to his place, then waiting for the elevator, and then –

Another moan of pain escaped her throat as the memory of the electrical buzz close to her ear sounded again, and she knew, she remembered. She'd been attacked by someone with a stun gun.

Her eyes darted around; it was still too painful to move. Was her attacker still here? She'd gotten nothing but a glimpse, a shadow moving behind her before she was hit. She saw the dimness of the hallway, closed doors, and the elevator to her right. Was she moved? A hardness against her back, smooth and cold. She was now leaning up against a door. From where she was, she ascertained she was now perched rather haphazardly against his door.

Auggie.

Had the attacker gone after him, too? Did she remember to lock his door as she was leaving? Putting every ounce of available strength into her movements, Annie lifted her arm, hand clenched into a fist, and pounded as hard as she could at his door.

"Auggie."

Her voice was raspy, and it hurt to talk. The proximity of the stungun's contact points to her vocal cords must have nearly paralyzed them. Swallowing, she tried talking again and pounding with every bit of reserve she had in her.

Within a few seconds, she heard the welcome sound of his footsteps coming toward the door, and she could have cried with relief. She sagged further into the door, breathing hard.

The harsh peal on his doorbell met Auggie as he was moving slowly from his bathroom to his bed. Ever since Annie had sat him on his bed with a kiss on his forehead and words of good night, he'd been slowly sobering up. He'd never been turned down like that in all his life – before or after Tikrit. What had gone so wrong this time?

They say there's truth in wine, and Auggie found his tonight. The nearness, warmth and wonderful smell of his best friend that he'd been "forced" to stand close to for a few hours started some wonderful thoughts and feelings that, when coupled with a healthy dose of alcohol, at least on his part, made him wonder why he'd waited so long.

Unfortunately, the sudden infatuation didn't extend to his best friend, who, though she held onto him and didn't push him away, also didn't kiss him back. It was a cold wash of disappointment when she'd removed his hand from her arm in the car, and he nearly let himself feel ashamed.

He'd spent a few minutes in the bathroom wondering if a large, expensive bouquet of flowers would be enough of an apology. Then he heard the doorbell ring. Had

she changed her mind? It'd only been a few minutes, but maybe –

Moving as quickly as he could given his loss of equilibrium, Auggie was through his bedroom when the knocking started. It'd sounded a few more times by the time he made it across the room.

Annie heard the door lock click, and she sobbed with relief. The door slid open, and though she tried to hold herself away from it, her weakened body couldn't hold herself up, and she fell back. A cry of pain emanated from her lips as her head hit the floor.

"Annie?" Auggie said, his voice full of hope. A hope which turned to fear and panic as he heard her grunt with pain, and something hit the floor beside his feet. "Annie!"

Squatting down to the floor, Auggie felt out with grasping fingers until they lit upon and hit fabric. "Annie," he said again, his voice now a strangled whisper. She moaned as though in pain, and every instinct in him went into automatic protection mode. "What happened? Did you fall? Are you hurt? Annie, talk to me!"

His hands were gentle, yet insistent as they moved across her face and down her body. She lifted one still shaking hand to his as it passed near it and grabbed, twisting her fingers around his. "Attacked," she rasped out, coughing.

Auggie's hands froze on her, the one she now gripped hard clenched, and he asked, wondering if he'd heard right, "You were attacked?"

"Y-yes," Annie rasped out again. Whether it was his touch or just the fact that she knew she'd be all right, Annie began to calm down and concentrated on breathing. "Stun gun. Neck."

Auggie nodded, and releasing her hand, maneuvered himself behind her, gripping her under the arms and dragging her with ease into his apartment. From what he could tell from her few words, she had been attacked in the few minutes after she'd left and now, and the perpetrator might still be in the area. Once he was sure she was clear of the door, he shut and locked it, making sure a second time with a pull on the handle that it was secure.

Kneeling beside her, Auggie ran his hands quickly over her body, starting with her legs and up to her waist. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"N-no," Annie said. "Just hit with stun gun."

"Where?" Auggie said, scooting up beside her.

"Neck," Annie breathed heavily.

"Jesus," Auggie swore, placing his hands gently on her shoulders and moving up to her neck. Gently probing, he soon found the point of attack, just under her jaw. She gasped with a hiss of pain as his fingers touched it. "Sorry, Annie. Are you sure you're not hurt anywhere else?"

She shook her head, and he felt the movement with his hands. "Thank god," he said, relief washing over him. He lowered his head down to her and pressed a kiss against her forehead.

Annie was touched by his show of concern, such a radical change from the flirty, passionate embrace of only a half hour ago. She lifed her arm up to him, to touch him and tell him she's all right when she heard a rustle of paper. Lifting her head slightly, she saw a thick piece of paper on her stomach.

"Auggie, what's this?" she said, lifting it with shaking fingers. By the feel of it, it was different than normal writing paper, and holding it up, she saw it was riddled with dots. Braille.

"What is it?" Auggie asked.

"A piece of paper. Braille writing. Not mine, did you –"

Auggie shook his head. "I'm going to call for an ambulance."

"N-no, it's all right," Annie said, struggling to sit up. As her muscles started tingling, she got the strange sensation you get when your foot's fallen asleep, except magnified about a dozen times all over her body. At least she could move now, though, and with Auggie's help, she finally got up to a sitting position.

Auggie moved behind her, rising to his knees to allow her to lean back against him. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders, holding her against him. "Are you sure? You sound like you're in pain. Maybe I should call the police or something?"

"Joan – just call Joan," Annie said, leaning her still tingling body back against him. Pulling her cell out of her pocket, she painstakingly punched in Joan's number and handed it to him. "She'll know what to do."

In the half hour it took for Joan to hear Auggie's words that Annie had been attacked and to get to his apartment, Arthur in tow, Auggie had lifted Annie in his arms and placed her on his bed. She'd protested only minimally, but Auggie was in full protective mode now, and nothing would have stopped him, anyway.

He'd removed her shoes and jacket, and she'd be changed into a spare pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, had she not stopped him. "Just – just sit here, Auggie," Annie said, pulling on his hand until he sat next to her on the bed. "Wait for Joan."

Auggie did what she said, placing her hand between both of his. His mind, though shocked into sobriety, was still a bit hazy and fuzzy with alcohol, and he took her advice to sit and wait. He'd wanted to apologize for his behavior, but the words wouldn't come. There were more important things to consider right now, more important than his bruised ego.

"She's going to ask a lot of questions," he said quietly.

"I know," Annie said, feeling suddenly bone-weary. The comfort of his bed and tender touch as his fingers moved over the back of her hand mixed with the muscle weakness after-effects of her attack, and all she wanted to do right now was sleep.

"Do you know anything? See anything?"

"No, I didn't," Annie said. "A shadow moving behind me, is all. I turned my head, and –"

Her voice choked again on her words, and Auggie fought the urge to gather her in his arms. She'd never backed down from a fight since he knew her, but this was different. This time, it wasn't in the middle of a mission. She was vulnerable, and the tears in her voice showed it.

"They're gone now," he said, reaching a hand out to her face, smoothing her hair off of her forehead. "You're safe."

A knocking at the door made Annie jump, and the sudden movement brought back the pain. She moaned, falling back against the pillows.

"It's Joan," Auggie said, standing up. "I'll be right back."

Indeed, before he'd reached the door, he heard a familiar female voice, "Auggie, it's Joan. Let us in."

Within a few seconds, she and Arthur were striding in. "Where is she?"

Auggie pointed the couple across the room to where Annie lay.

Managing to smile just a bit, Annie saw two of the most powerful people in the CIA stride across the room. They were smartly dressed, and she felt a twinge of guilt. "Joan."

"Annie, first of all, are you okay?" Joan said, walking up beside her junior officer as she lay weakly in the bed.

Annie nodded, and both Joan and Arthur gave a sigh of relief. Annie was slightly taken aback at Arthur's show of concern. She'd taken the man as rather hard and foreboding.

"How were you attacked? Did you see who did it?" Joan asked, taking a seat beside her on the mattress where Auggie previously sat.

"Stun gun to the neck, got knocked out. I never saw the attacker," Annie said simply.

Arthur stood at the end of the bed, his heavy brow wrinkled. "Just a random stranger attack?" he asked.

"Perhaps, but –"

"Wait," Annie said, interrupting Joan. "There was a piece of paper. Auggie?"

Auggie nodded and retrieved the thick paper from the kitchen counter. "It's not mine, and Annie says it's not hers. Maybe the attacker left it behind?"

Arthur took the paper from him. "Did you read it?" he asked.

Auggie shook his head, "Wanted to make sure Annie was okay first, didn't think of it."

"Think of it now," Arthur said gruffly, handing the paper back to him.

Trying to hold his anger at the man in check, Auggie held the sheet with one hand and slipped his fingers along the raised dots.

"Out loud," Arthur ordered.

Auggie gritted his teeth and repositioned his fingers at the top.

"My dearest August,

I am sorry I had to leave you after such a night of joyful abandon three years ago. A previously scheduled appointment that could not be broken caused me to not wake up in your loving arms.

It has been three lonely years since that night, and I apologize for not contacting you earlier. Circumstances beyond my control have kept me away this long. I will be back, my lover. Wait for me, as I have waited for you. Until then."

The room descended into silence as Auggie read the last words. Arthur broke it.

"'Until then,' what? Who signed it?"

"No one," Auggie said, once again running his sensitive fingers over the paper. "That's it."

"A love letter?" Annie asked. "Why would my attacker leave a love letter to you?"

Auggie's mind was reeling, his fingers flying over the dots again, making sure he'd read them right. Three years ago? He'd just started working for the DPD then, was about a year after Tikrit, and –

The paper was ripped from his grasp as Arthur took it from his fingers. "No letterhead, just dots on paper."

"Arthur, the back," Joan said, pointing.

Turning the paper over, Arthur saw a hand-written scrawl at the bottom of the paper. "Seems your pen pal did sign it, Anderson."

"What's it say?" Annie asked.

"You are mine. Defy me again, and blood will be shed."

Again, the room fell into silence as the words echoed. Annie felt an unaccustomed wave of fear tingle through her. The threat was as hateful as the note was as full of love. "Auggie, who –"

"I don't know," Auggie said quietly, his own heart rate rising. "Truly, I don't know who wrote that."

"Fine," Joan said, rising from the bed, full-on Director mode kicking in. "The facts as they stand are that Annie was attacked and threatened. That threat extends to you, Auggie, so you're both going back to headquarters until we can figure this out."

A grunt of protest escaped Annie's throat, but a hard look from both of her bosses stopped it.

"The attack took place here, right?"

"In the hallway," Annie said, nodding her head.

"Exactly. Until we know who this person is and what they want, you're both in protective custody. I take it you have a bag packed in your car, Annie?" Joan asked, turning to her.

Annie nodded, and Joan turned to Auggie, who stood a few steps away, a hard look on his face. "Pack a bag, Auggie. I'll drive you both there in Annie's car. Arthur?"

"I'll see you there," Arthur said, walking over and placing a kiss on his wife's cheek. "I'll also take the letter and get it to forensics."

"Bye, honey," Joan said, squeezing his arm as he walked away and out of the apartment. "You have five minutes to get ready to leave," she said to Annie and Auggie. "I have a couple of phone calls to make."

Joan left the apartment talking on her cellphone, and Annie sighed. With a small groan of pain, she swung her legs off the bed. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Neither can I," Auggie agreed, walking to his closet to retrieve a bag. He

began stuffing a couple days worth of clothes into it, not caring if they got wrinkled or not.

Annie watched him as she gingerly slid her feet back into her shoes and pulled her arms through her jacket. The events of the past hour were such a blur, she'd been working on instinct, but now as she sat, waiting for Auggie to pack and Joan to return, she allowed herself to think.

Her attack had been vicious, and she felt herself lucky to still be alive. But the fact that she'd only been rendered unconscious meant that she was a warning. A warning to Auggie from a woman. A woman who'd apparently shared his bed – the bed she now sat on.

A cold rivulet of disappointment ran through her, making her shiver slightly. She knew Auggie had his fair share of women, but the fact that he'd only a little while ago wanted her to join their ranks upset her.

"How could you not know?" she asked.

Auggie walked back into the bedroom, dropping the filled bag on the floor. "How could I not know what?" he asked, taking a seat next to her on the bed.

He was reaching his hand out to her, and Annie quickly stood, stepping out of his reach. "You said you didn't know who wrote the letter, who attacked me. You slept with her, according to what she wrote. How could you not remember?"

Her voice was tinged with what seemed like accusation and disbelief, and for a moment, Auggie didn't know how to respond. He opened his mouth several times, but couldn't – didn't know what to say to her.

His door slid open, and Joan walked back into the apartment. "Are you two ready?"

"More than," Annie said, turning her back on Auggie and walking away.

Chapter 3

Joan led the way out of the apartment and to the elevator. Annie followed close behind her, not wanting to turn her head to look at or even wait for Auggie right now. The door opened as he closed his, his duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

With practiced steps, he met them there. Annie still refused to look at him. The level of disappointment and anger coursing through her right now nearly made her cry. She didn't want to, though, not in front of him, and most certainly not in front of Joan. She tamped it down and used all of her self-control to deaden her feelings. She'd have time to sort them out later, when she was alone and safe.

They were in the elevator for less than a full minute, but as soon as the doors opened, Annie bolted through them, walking out of the building and to her car. She dug her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the doors. She faintly heard Auggie calling her name, but she pretended she didn't hear, and instead dropped the keys in the front seat and settled into the back.

"Annie, wait!" Auggie called after her as he heard her near-run out of the elevator. He felt Joan's hand at his elbow, and he allowed his boss to lead him out and to the car. Halfway across the sidewalk, though, Joan pulled him to a stop.

"It's too late to talk about this now, but I know something more than Annie getting attacked by your ex happened tonight," she said, keeping her voice low.

"Joan, I –"

"Tomorrow," Joan said emphatically. "Right now, all I'm concerned about is getting my employees somewhere safe. Understood?"

Auggie nodded, and they resumed their walk across to Annie's car. As she let go of his elbow, Auggie felt along the metal and glass for the door handle and opened it. He went to sit his bag on the seat before sliding in himself when he felt the bag being taken from his grasp.

What was Annie doing in the backseat, he thought. He figured she'd want to be up front with Joan, but as she was clearly not speaking to him, he sat down and shut the door.

Laying his arm against the bag sitting between them on the seat, his hand landed on Annie's. He half-smiled at the inadvertent caress, but it was soon gone as Annie pulled her hand out from under his.

"How you holding up, Annie?" Joan called from the driver's seat.

"Okay, Joan. Just tired. Been a long couple of days," Annie said, her voice sounding as weary as she felt. So much had happened in the past few hours, she needed time to process it all, and her tired brain was begging to do it during a soothing REM cycle.

"Don't worry, you won't have to debrief tonight. You and Auggie are going to be staying in the hole tonight, and we'll delve more into this tomorrow."

Annie knew she was tired, but did Joan just say she was going to throw her and Auggie into a hole? "Where or what is a hole?" she asked.

Joan laughed, and she could hear Auggie snicker beside her. "The hole is just a name the agents have given it. It's a sort of makeshift living quarters," Joan explained.

Auggie nodded, "I've slipped down there a time or two myself."

Joan cocked an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "You'll be there until we catch your attacker, Annie, or at least make sure she's no longer a threat."

"Okay," Annie sighed.

"Auggie, do you have any idea who this person could be?" Joan asked.

"Sorry, Joan. I've been thinking, but I seriously can't remember," Auggie said. He heard Annie scoff beside him, and his jaw clenched.

Annie fit the key Joan supplied her with into the doorknob and opened the heavy steel door. A large room lay out in front of her, and as she flipped the switch on the wall just inside, she said, "Huh, looks like my old dorm room."

The décor screamed strictly utilitarian, and it seemed as if the only thing the CIA provided for comfort were pillows on the small beds that stood beside each other in one corner. An open door off to the side showed what seemed to be a bathroom, and one corner held a kitchen area.

Sighing heavily, Annie trudged across the room and placed her suitcase at the base of one of the beds. She heard Auggie walk in, but she didn't bother looking up. The way she felt right now, she couldn't bear seeing his face. An entire year's worth of friendship seemed as though it were crumbling at her feet, and she was too tired and sore and upset right now to deal with it.

A quick shower and sleep would have to suffice for the next few hours, and then she'd deal with her problems. She pulled a long cotton tee out of her bag to change into and headed to the bathroom.

Though she'd had to make due with a generic bar of soap that she found on the sink, just the soothing hot water on her skin relaxed her still tingling and sore muscles. She allowed the harsh, hot spray to linger on her neck where the stun gun had hit her.

Padding on bare feet out of the bathroom back to her bed-for-the-night, she was stopped short at the sight in front of her. In the time she'd been in the bathroom, Auggie had apparently used the time to change into his own sleepwear, and he sat on his bed, barefoot and bare-chested.

It wasn't the first time she'd seen a shirtless man, but it was her first glimpse at Auggie's muscled, smooth body. His head lifted in her direction, and she was stopped short as a half-smile lit his features.

A completely involuntary thrill of desire and attraction rushed up her spine, around her chest and down through her legs. The sensation caused a somewhat strangled gasp to escape her lips.

Auggie's eyes, full of apprehension as she entered the room, softened slightly at the sound, and he wondered if she'd relented in her apparent anger she'd been throwing his way.

The moment passed without either of them making another move or sound, though, and Annie pulled her eyes away from him and headed straight for her bed. Though they weren't too close, she still felt Auggie's presence as she lay down on the bed, throwing her arm over her eyes.

"There's a new toothbrush in the bathroom, if you forgot yours," she said.

Auggie nodded. "You okay?" She didn't answer, and Auggie let his head drop in his hands. How the hell did they get to this point? He knew, but his pride hadn't been letting him acknowledge it. He'd drunkenly propositioned her, kissed her, then she'd gotten viciously attacked by a stranger. A stranger who was apparently one of his one night stands from years ago.

"Annie?" he said quietly. "I'm sorry. For all of this."

He sounded so sincere, Annie almost relented, but her exhausted and sore mind and body was beyond caring. "It's not your fault. You can't expect people to act the way you want them to, I guess."

The quiet, response held a tinge of anger still, and Auggie frowned. "Are you talking about my ex or me?"

Again, she didn't answer, and Auggie felt his own anger rising. "I won't apologize for my life, Annie," he said.

"I'm not asking you to," Annie said with a frustrated huff. "Jesus, Auggie, what do you want me to say?"

"I – I just need to know that you don't blame me, that – that you don't hate me," Auggie said.

Annie's arm dropped from its position over her eyes, and she looked at him in disbelief. Seriously, that's what he's worried about? Turning on her side, she draped the thin blanket over her legs. "Sorry, Auggie, but I've got a lot on my mind right now, and stroking your ego, or whatever else you require stroked, isn't quite at the top of my list."

The petulant tone of her voice struck Auggie. "You are mad at me."

Annie shook her head at him. "No, I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed that my best friend tried to add me to his list of conquests. Well, at least you would have remembered my name, though, right?" she added with a hollow laugh.

A weight dropped in Auggie's chest at her words. She'd just gotten viciously attacked, rendered unconscious and hurt, and the reason for her silent treatment of him now was because he'd kissed her and invited her into his bed? And – oh, my god, he thought. She thought his motives were for a quickie? A one-night stand?

Didn't she know what she meant to him? Didn't she – Auggie nearly choked at the emotion building up in him. "That's what you think it was?" he asked huskily. "What you think of me?"

Annie sighed and pulled the blanket over her shoulder. "I don't know what to think right now, Auggie. I'm tired, and I'm going to sleep."

Auggie wanted to press the matter, to drop to his knees in front of her and beg for her to forgive him for – for everything. For ever touching another woman before he met her, for allowing his past to cause her pain and harm. But more than anything, if nothing else, he wanted his Annie back. His friend. The one who didn't flinch from his touch and would talk to him again.

He knew he couldn't do anything to change his past, but the future – the future was something he could work on. He had to. Life without Annie was just unfeasible.

Chapter 4

Annie woke to the smell of coffee. It was familiar and soothing, and she breathed deep before opening her eyes. Though most would think it'd be awkward and confusing waking up in a strange bed, Annie had gotten used to it in her travels before the CIA and the past year she'd spent traveling abroad weekly. She counted herself lucky she'd been able to sleep lying down this time.

The coffee was calling her, and she stretched her body out, enjoying the fact that her muscles had relaxed during the night and were no longer tingling. As she stretched her arms above her head, and one muscle protested. Her neck spasmed, where the stun gun had hit her.

As she sat up, holding her hand against the protesting pain, she saw Auggie's bed neatly made and empty. Across the room, he sat at a small table, fully dressed and apparently freshly showered, as his damp and curling hair showed. A tease regarding CIA policy on hair length flirted with her tongue, but she swallowed it, remembering their conversation, slash, argument last night.

Instead, she walked across the room, barefoot and bare-legged. An empty mug sat on the counter beside the coffeepot, and she poured it full, smiling a bit when she saw the two creamers sitting on the counter along with a stirrer. A small detail, to be sure, but the fact that he remembered how she took her coffee made her smile.

She pulled the chair across from Auggie out and sat down.

"Good morning," Auggie said, making sure to keep his voice light and friendly. Their conversation, slash, argument of the night before still echoed in his head, and he was hesitant to stir the waters any further.

"Good morning," Annie answered. The night's sleep worked as well as she hoped it would, and she found the majority of her anger had dissipated. She almost felt embarrassed that she'd taken it out on Auggie. He didn't cause her to get attacked, and if it was three years ago that he'd "dated" this woman, it was a long time ago, before she even knew him.

But that was just it, she knew. With the exception of a few details that'd come out over the past year that she'd known him, Auggie's past was a blank slate to her. And until she knew more, she wasn't quite sure how their friendship stood now.

Lifting her coffee cup to her lips, she groaned as her neck and shoulder protested the movement. "Damn it," she grunted, rubbing at the twitching muscle.

Auggie stood up smoothly and walked past her, placing his mug in the sink. The next thing Annie knew, she felt warm fingers on her shoulders.

"Where you were hit?" Auggie asked, feeling her tense at his touch. She didn't jerk or pull away, though, so he counted it as a small step forward.

"Yeah, it stiffened up overnight," Annie said.

Making sure to keep his movements slow, Auggie felt from her shoulder, across her collarbone and up her neck. As she tilted her head to the side, allowing him better access, the muscle in question flared beneath his fingers, and he began to soothe it with small circles and pressure.

He smiled to himself, relieved that her anger and frustration from last night had gone. Her words, though, still rang through his mind. Especially the ones as they were leaving his apartment. _"How could you sleep with her and not even know her name?"_

It's not that he'd made it a habit of going home with strangers. Yes, he'd go home with women he'd just met, but they did exchange names prior to falling asleep. He just couldn't recall all of them. As he thought hard back on that time of his life, the whole year had been something of a blur. He'd been fighting so hard to prove his worthiness – to himself, to the Army, to Joan, to his family.

And, as time went on, that pride extended to proving himself still worthy of getting the girls. A slate of them over a six-month period, if his memory served him right. Soon he tired of it, though. Tired of trying to find someone to make him forget the pain – the pain of losing his eyesight, and just a short time prior, losing Natasha.

Annie was slightly nervous when Auggie had placed his hands on her shoulders, especially given the state of her undress. But once his fingers started moving across her neck, her stiff muscles leapt to his touch, and she began to relax.

After a few minutes of his almost clinical ministration, she felt the spasmed muscle release, and a soothing looseness traveled down her arm and up her scalp. She took a deep breath and rotated her neck, feeling almost as good as she had prior to the events of last night. Auggie's hands didn't lift, though, and she nearly whimpered as a different tingling took the place of the stun gun-induced one. From her hairline down her neck, across her collarbone to her shoulder and back, Auggie's hands smoothed over her skin and t-shirt.

Lifrting her own, she placed it against his, stilling the movement. "Thanks."

"Anytime," Auggie said, slowly lifting his hands off. He stepped back a few steps and cleared his throat. "We, uhh, we still have some time before work, why don't you get dressed, and we can hit up the Starbucks for some overpriced breakfast?"

An hour later, Annie walked with Auggie down the hall to the DPD. He had his laser cane in front of him, but felt a slight rush of relief at Annie's touch on his elbow. A world of difference from the normal curling of her fingers around his upper arm as they'd had in the past, but he counted it as a first move to their hopeful rekindling of friendship.

All too soon, they were in the office, and Joan was approaching, her gold jewelry clinking lightly on her wrist and neck. "There you two are. Sleep well?"

"Yes." "Yes."

The simultaneous, quick answer raised Joan's eyebrows slightly, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she took in with a quick eye the more than normal distance between her junior officer and her tech ops head. A coolness hung in the air between them, as well, a drastic change from only 24 hours prior when the man had welcomed her home with a tight hug and kiss to the forehead.

"Annie, you can work from your desk for now. Until we've caught this attacker, or at least learned more information, I can't risk sending you out into the field."

Nodding, Annie released Auggie's elbow and walked through the bullpen's maze of desks to her own. Once she was out of earshot, Joan took the spot she vacated, leading Auggie to his office.

Once the door slid shut, Auggie sat heavily into his desk chair. "I don't know what to tell you, Joan. I still can't remember the name of the woman who might have attacked Annie."

"Hmm, too bad," Joan said, grabbing a spare desk chair and settling down into it. "The letter's been taken to our forensics department. They're working on it now. But Auggie –"

Turning his chair to face her, Auggie said, "You want to know everything."

"Of course," Joan said simply.

Auggie sighed as a mild sense of déjà vu came over him. Joan had adopted the same tone of voice and attitude when he'd come back from Canada after nearly running off with Natasha. She'd been sympathetic then, so as he began to talk, he hoped the same sympathy could be extended to his current situation.

He didn't bother leaving out any details, as he knew Joan's reputation for being a bullshit detector. So he started with their arrival at Allen's and proceeded through the events of the evening. He allowed himself to be slightly embarrassed when he got to the point where he'd asked Annie to accompany him home. And he was glad when Joan didn't interrupt him at that point, either. He merely stuck to the facts, and if Joan needed an explanation of his motives or thoughts, he'd supply them.

He finished a few minutes later when Joan had arrived with Arthur and sat back in his chair, taking a deep breath and running his hands over his face.

"Huh."

Auggie's surprise at her simple grunt showed in his face. "That's all you have to say?" he asked.

"Auggie, I'd been under the impression that you two had already – shall we say – been together, already."

"No," Auggie said, shaking his head. "We're friends. Best friends, to tell you the truth."

Joan stood and looked out the windowed wall to Annie, who sat at her desk, staring at her computer monitor. "So last night, when we were leaving your apartment –"

"She was mad. At me. And apparently disappointed that, one, I couldn't remember the name of a woman I had slept with, and two –" Auggie's voice trailed off as he remembered what she'd said last night.

"Auggie?" Joan said, turning around to him.

"She was under the assumption that I'd just wanted a one night stand with her," he confessed.

"And did you?"

"No, of course not!" Auggie nearly shouted.

"I didn't think so," Joan said. "Give her time, okay? She's been through a lot."

"I know, Joan. I'm just afraid all this has ruined our friendship, and if that ever happened –"

"You won't lose her, Auggie," Joan said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Now, get to work."

Auggie nodded, and as Joan left, he turned to his computer and booted it up. He hoped Joan was right, and all Annie needed was time to sort through her feelings. The problem that stood between them now, though, seemed insurmountable. He was reminded of the time she'd found out about his secret op with Liza, and the fact that he'd been sleeping with the reporter to gain information from her.

He never thought anything of it, of course. Going undercover meant just that, and doing whatever it was necessary to gain information. Nearly every officer in that bullpen, or hell, even under the whole CIA's roof had done it at some point in their careers. He'd wondered what had caused her disappointment then, but never came to a conclusion.

But now, as that bitter rage flared between them once again, he had his answer. The sarcastic slip of the tongue she'd uttered last night gave her away, and Auggie's breath caught in his throat as he realized it. In addition to being surprised at his past string of nameless lovers, she said she was disappointed that he'd wanted to add her to the list.

He'd been flabbergasted that she'd assume such a thing, but now that he thought about it, what proof had he given her that he'd wanted something more? He'd stupidly assumed she was on the same page as him, but he knew Joan was right.

Annie needed time, and though he yearned to give her so much more than that, it was all she'd accept from him at the moment. But soon he hoped she'd be welcome to all he had to offer.

Chapter 5

"Sure, Joan, be there in a few minutes," Auggie said, hanging up his phone and jumping out of his chair. Walking swiftly out of his office, he made his way to Annie's desk. "Hey, Annie, Joan wants to see us in the conference room."

He seemed to be nearly bursting out of his skin, and Annie wondered what had happened. "What about? I'm chained to the desk until your ex is found, remember?"

"That's just it," Auggie said. "The guys down in forensics, they've gotten the results back on their tests on that letter she left."

"Oh," Annie said, standing up. "So soon?"

Auggie chuckled, "Seems when Arthur left my place last night, he came straight here and personally threatened the techie on duty with his livelihood if he didn't get results in 24 hours."

Annie sighed as Auggie took her elbow. "He didn't have to do that."

"You were attacked, Annie. You could have been seriously hurt or worse. If he didn't do it, I certainly would have," he said, his fingers tightening slightly around her arm.

"You don't mean that," Annie scoffed as they began walking through the bullpen toward the conference room, though she did feel a small burst of happiness at his familiar protectiveness. Maybe she'd been too hasty in her summation of Auggie's motives.

"Don't I?"

As they entered the room, Annie saw Joan standing with a nervous-looking young man she'd never met before. This must be the threatened techie, she thought. A few other support people and agents were scattered around, and as Annie and Auggie joined their ranks, Joan began to speak.

"Joshua here has been working since last night on the letter left at Auggie's apartment," she said, motioning to the man. "Josh, the floor is yours."

"Th-thank you, Director," Joshua said, casting a nervous glance around the room. The only person he knew was Auggie Anderson, whom he'd met a year or two ago. When the great Arthur Campbell entered his office late last night, he'd been suitably terrified, but when he'd explained that a threat had been made against Auggie, and his girl, Annie, had been attacked, he put every ounce of effort into pulling all the information he could out of the letter.

Taking a deep breath, Joshua pressed a few buttons on the laptop in front of him, and a picture of the letter came up on the screen behind him. "The paper itself is 130-pound paper, standard for braille typing, though it is a bit pricey. By the markings, I can tell that it was printed with a braille slate and stylus. There's no way to trace that type of writing. If she had used a braillea printer, we might have been able to."

"She wrote all that by hand?" Annie asked, stunned.

Joshua nodded and pressed a few more buttons. A new picture appeared, this time of the back of the letter with its handwritten scrawl. "The writing on the back is with a generic pen, no way to trace. I can tell you that it was written last night, but you already knew that. A handwriting analysis could be done to provide a detailed profile, but sadly, that is not my forte. Also, it's so few words, I'm not sure how much detail could be pulled from it."

A somewhat irritated "ahem" sounded next to him, and Joshua looked from the wall screen to Joan who was staring at him. A quick glance around the room showed similar looks on the rest of those gathered.

"Right. Moving on. If another piece of writing were acquired, we should be able to compare it to this handwriting for verification purposes," Joshua said, speaking a little more quickly. "Four sets of prints were found on the paper. I was told to disregard those of Mr. Campbell himself, Auggie and Annie Walker, which I have done. Thankfully, your prints did not obscure the fourth set. It took some doing to pull them, as they were somewhat smudged, but I was able to get one index finger print with enough points to run through the AFIS system."

Joshua took a breath and turned back to the laptop. He was in the middle of pulling up the fingerprints when a harsh voice made him up.

"Well? Who is it?" Auggie shouted, a bit louder than he meant to.

"Here we go," he said. A booking photo appeared on the screen. "The prints matched a female, 25 years old, arrested March 2008 for DUI and vehicular homicide. She pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 3 years in jail, 100 hours community service and admission into alcohol rehabilitation facility. She was released last week."

"What is her name?" Auggie said through gritted teeth. Generally, he liked Joshua, but apparently, the man had no want to get to the point.

"S-sorry, Auggie, I was just –" Joshua tried to apologize, but seeing the pleading in the man's eyes, he said, "Lillian Duchamp. The prints on the letter belonged to Lillian Duchamp."

As soon as the name left the techie's lips, Auggie felt his heart drop somewhere into the range of his stomach.

"Lillybell," he whispered.

"What?" Annie said, watching Auggie as his eyes closed and his mouth dropped open. "Auggie?"

Flashes of memory flared in Auggie's brain.

He'd smelled her before he heard her, a mix of honeysuckle and roses. Her voice, strictly southern belle. Her touch, soft as her fingers had ran up his arm, asking his name. "Auggie," he'd said. "I'm Lillian Duchamp, but you can call me Lillybell," she'd drawled into his ear.

Another flash, of them dancing, Lillybell's arms wrapping around his neck, her lips against his jaw. Then they were at a table, and she'd sat on his lap, whispering into his ear and kissing him senseless. Shots of Jack Daniels sliding down both of their throats. Her asking if they could continue this back at his place, grinding her perfect little ass into him. Them falling into the bed, limbs tangling, breaths panting, her screaming his name.

Final flash, of afterwards when they lay in each other's arms. He'd felt wetness against his chest and asked why she was crying. She whispered that she'd found him. She'd found the one she'd been searching for her entire life. And she was happy.

He'd woken alone that morning. She'd left nothing behind.

A hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his memories, and he opened his eyes.

"Auggie, what is it?" Annie asked, wondering at his reaction to her attacker's name.

"I remembered," Auggie said with a rueful smile. He became aware of the silence of the room, and he said, "Did everyone leave?"

"Uhh, yeah," Annie said, pulling out a chair and leading him to sit in it before pulling one out for herself. "Joan's put a couple of agents on finding Lillian Duchamp, and they've all left."

Auggie nodded and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his fingers together, twisting them. "I know you don't want to hear this, but you were right. She was a one night stand. I'd met her at the bar three years ago and taken her back to my place."

Annie nodded. He was right, she didn't want to hear about him and another woman hooking up, but she swallowed her uncomfortableness and reached a hand out to him, covering his twisting fingers with her own.

"It was only about a year after I'd lost my sight, and I was fighting so much to – I don't know, to stay relevant, I guess. Needing to outdo everyone and prove myself to everybody. Lillyb—Lillian Duchamp wasn't the first girl I'd taken home from the bar, and she wasn't the last. But she was different. Clingy, making promises of forever after. She was gone the next day, and I hadn't seen nor heard of her since."

Annie leaned forward, squeezing his hands, "Auggie, you don't have to explain anything to me. It was years ago, and you –"

"But I want to," Auggie said, lifting his head. "I need you to know, that was three years ago, and I haven't –" Auggie took a deep breath before continuing. "I've changed since then, Annie, and last night – I'm sorry for taking it so far, but please know that I wasn't thinking of it as a one night stand. I'd only wanted –"

"Auggie," Annie interrupted before he went any further. "I know you didn't, but now's not the time. We've got to find this girl, and then – well, we can talk more about this later. Okay?"

Auggie nodded, and feeling her tug on his hands, stood and followed her out of the conference room.

Chapter 6

Auggie lifted his head at the sound of the door opening, his fingers sliding off the paper he was reading. A quick sniff and the click of heels announced Annie's arrival back down to their home for a second night.

"Hi, honey, hard day at the office?" he quipped with a smile.

"Very funny, Auggie," Annie said, shaking her head. "Wanted to hang around a bit more in case the guys from metro came back with anymore information."

She was walking over to him, shrugging out of her jacket when she realized what he was sitting on. "Where did the couch come from?"

"Like it?" Auggie said with a smile, patting the leather armrest. "Talked Joan into moving some actual furniture down here if we were going to be sequestered so long."

"Good thinking," Annie said, and with a sigh, dropped onto the end that wasn't covered with Auggie and files. She eased her feet out of her stilettos and stretched her legs out, rotating her ankles. "Joan said she'd try to call in a few favors, but I guess if Lillian Duchamp doesn't want to be caught, she's not going to be."

Auggie nodded and picked up the file he'd been reading when she came in. "Well, they might not have been able to find her, but we were able to find her information. I've been reading it."

"Mm-hmm," Annie murmured, laying her head back against the sofa and closing her eyes.

"The correctional facility where she spent her time sent her file over. She was, as the warden states here, a model prisoner. Spent most of her time reading and in the library. We think that's where she taught herself Braille. The warden states here she would have been given time off for good behavior, had she not been responsible for another person's death. In fact, he says –"

"Auggie," Annie interrupted.

"Yeah?" he said, his fingers hovering over the files.

"Could – could we please not talk about Lillian Duchamp tonight?" Annie asked. She knew the intel they'd gotten was important and necessary to find her attacker before she causes anymore harm, but she'd scream if she heard the woman's name one more time.

"Sure, Annie," Auggie said, gathering the papers and sliding them back in the folder. "There's a printed copy here, if you want to read over them later – or tomorrow, if you want."

"Thanks," she said.

A silence fell between them in the room, broken a few minutes later when Auggie said, "Wish I had thought to ask Joan for a tv or a radio."

Annie lifted her head off the couch and looked over at him. He'd changed out of his work clothes into the same lounge pants he'd had on the night before. He paired it with a t-shirt this time, a clothing choice that Annie felt both comforted and annoyed by.

"Sorry I haven't been such good company lately, Auggie," Annie said softly. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

"You're the last person that needs to apologize, and you know it."

Annie smiled a bit and turned on the couch toward him. "Well, we could talk."

"We are talking, aren't we?" he said with a smirk. "Words and everything."

"Come on, you know what I mean," Annie said. "One thing that's been bugging me lately is that I don't know much about you."

Auggie's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

"You never talk about yourself. Maybe if you had, I wouldn't have been so shocked to find out about Lillian Duchamp."

Turning on the couch, Auggie said, "You think knowing about every woman I slept with is going to help?"

"That's not what I meant," Annie said. "You know everything about me, where I went to school, how I felt about growing up an Army brat, who I had my first kiss with, everything. The only things I know about you prior to meeting you is that you lost your sight in Tikrit, and you grew up in a big family. Get the difference?"

"Maybe," Auggie said, a bit perplexed. "If you want, I could sneak my file from Personnel for you."

Annie huffed in exasperation. "You know what? Forget it. I'm going to get changed."

Standing from the couch, she walked over to the suitcase on her bed and pulled out her sleep shirt. If she needed to spend more than a couple more nights, she'd need to make a trip home to get more clothes.

After a quick shower, Annie brushed her teeth and gathered up her clothes to place back in her suitcase. She headed back into "the hole" to find the room nearly engulfed in darkness, save a lamp beside their newly acquired couch. Auggie sat on it, arms leaning on his thighs. His head lifted in her direction as she stepped out.

"Hey," he said, standing up and walking over to the table. "I made you some tea. Earl Grey okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

Auggie picked up the mug and motioned her over to the couch. He breathed a sigh of relief as he heard her step across the room and sit down. He held the mug out to her, and she accepted it. "Comfortable? Can I get you something to eat?"

"Auggie, what's this all about?" Annie asked, a bit apprehensive as to his motives.

Sitting on the other end of the couch, Auggie took a deep breath and turned to her, laying one of his arms against the back. "You were right. I normally don't give up much of myself. Never really did before I lost my sight, and even more now. Working for the CIA, you learn to tell lies, hide the truth, create such a web of deception that it'd take a team of intel analysts weeks to crack."

Annie took a drink of her tea and settled into the cushions, listening to him talk. She and Auggie had had long talks in the past, both in person and over the phone while she was on missions, but as she'd pointed out earlier, he'd never divulged much information about himself.

"Go on," she said.

"You can make friends here, but –" Auggie's voice trailed off, as his hands gestured.

"But it's hard to trust people who've been taught to lie for a living?"

Auggie laughed, though to Annie's ears it sounded a bit hollow and defeated. "Exactly. It's easy to get along with people, but to really trust them?" Auggie shook his head.

Stretching her arm along the back of the sofa, Annie linked her fingers with Auggie, causing him to look up. "What are you trying to say, Auggie?"

Clenching his fingers around hers, Auggie started talking. At first, Annie wondered why he suddenly launched into a description of the house he lived in growing up, but as he continued, he talked about his family, where he grew up, his brothers.

Annie didn't breathe a word the entire time, afraid anything she said would break the spell. Auggie was opening up to her, telling her things she was sure he'd never told anyone else. She learned what made him the way he was, what fueled his desire to work for the greater good. Why he'd joined Special Forces and gone through the hell of SEREs training. She gasped a bit as he explained what it entailed.

He hesitated when he'd gotten to the point where he'd met Natasha, and Annie was about to tell him he didn't need to explain, but he kept talking. His fingers tightened a bit on hers, but he didn't stop. The words kept tumbling out of his mouth, as though he didn't have any control over them anymore.

Annie felt her heart break a little bit along with his as he explained how he'd been forced to give her up, and how he'd watched when the FBI had taken her away. He was out of the country headed for Afghanistan within a month, he said, though sometimes he wondered if such a rash decision were so wise, given the outcome.

A full minute of silence passed, during which Annie wondered if he was done, but with a deep breath, Auggie continued, his words coming a bit faster as he neared the end. He told her about how Joan approached him with the job offer, and how long it'd taken him to settle into being blind for the rest of his life.

"What I'd told you about fighting to prove myself? It extended into everything, every part of my life. Maybe I'd taken it a bit too far, but it seemed to have worked okay, until –"

"Until what?" Annie asked, not wanting the story of Auggie to end.

Smiling at her eager tone, Auggie allowed his thumb to caress hers. "Until a certain new recruit joined our ranks and had me breaking so many rules left and right, Joan's threatened to demote me if I go out into the field one more time."

Annie laughed, "I didn't drag you along, you know."

"True, but you brought me out of myself, Annie. I never said how much I appreciated it in the past, but I'm saying it now. Thank you."

Annie's breath stuck in her throat at the sincerity of his words and heartfelt emotions in his eyes. What do you say to something like that, she thought. True, she'd asked him to tell her a little about himself, just so she wouldn't be blindsided by such information as Lillian Duchamp again, but didn't expect his life story.

"Auggie, I – " Annie shook her head as she realized mere words wouldn't be able to express how she felt right now. Leaning forward, she balanced herself on their clasped hands and pressed her lips against his. He didn't move, didn't even try to return her caress. Annie leaned back and pressed her forehead against his.

"You're welcome, Auggie."

A sudden knock on the door sprang them apart, Annie clenching her mug of cooling tea to her chest.

The door slowly opened, and a voice said, "You two decent?"

Annie rolled her eyes as she recognized the voice. "Of course we are, Jai. What do you think we're doing?"

The door opened fully, and Jai sauntered in, looking around the place before settling his eyes on his co-workers who sat on either side of a leather couch. "Spending your second night together in the hole. There are stories about what goes on down here."

Auggie's jaw clenched at the man's innuendo. "Come down here just to mock us, Jai, or do you have actual information to impart?"

"Oh, yeah," Jai said. "Metro went by your apartment to see if they could find anymore evidence, and they found another letter, taped to your door. Seems your Lillian hasn't given up on you, Auggie."

Chapter 7

Annie groaned as Jai left, the door closing behind him. "So much for not hearing Lilybelle's name again tonight," she said, downing the last of her cooled tea.

Auggie heard the exhaustion in her voice, and he reached out a hand, catching her arm as she moved to get up. No pulling away this time. "Annie, why don't you turn in?"

"But Joan will probably –"

"I'll take care of Joan," he said. "Besides, they'll need me to read the letter if she wrote it in Braille again. I'll go, you turn in, and I'll see you later, okay?"

Annie placed her hand on his as it held her wrist gently. She hadn't wanted him to leave at all. Something seemed to have broken through with them, and she wanted to talk some more, to learn more about him, tell him more about herself.

Auggie felt the hesitation through her fingers as they lay on his. He knew she'd keep going, running herself more and more ragged until the mission was finished and the bad guy was caught. Normally, he'd go along with whatever she decided, but now wasn't one of those times. It was his problem, and she'd been hurt enough already.

"Besides, I'm not too sure a thigh-length nightgown is part of the dress code," he said, winking at her and giving her wrist a squeeze before releasing it and standing up.

"Ha ha, Auggie," Annie said, placing her mug on the table. "Wait a minute, how do you know what I'm wearing?" she asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

"A spy never tells all his secrets, Annie, you know that," he said, pulling a sweatshirt over his tee.

Yeah, sure, Annie thought, shaking her head to herself. Sitting down on her bed, she pulled back the blackets and stretched out, reveling in the softness of the sheets.

"Want me to tuck you in?" Auggie asked with a laugh, as he pulled his sneakers out of his suitcase under his bed.

Annie chuckled. "Would you?"

The words had barely left her lips when Auggie's head jerked up, and his shoes clattered to the floor. A couple of steps over, and Annie watched with bated breath as her blanket was pulled from the side of the bed and across her body. His fingers lightly touched her bare arms as he pulled the blanket up to her shoulders and patted the material.

She risked a glance up at his face. His eyes were soft, and his whole countenance looked as though he wanted nothing more than to tuck her into that bed and keep her safe from all the bad guys in the world. His hand came up to her face, and Annie's eyes fluttered shut as his fingers glanced along her jaw.

"Get some sleep, Annie," Auggie whispered. "I'll fill you in on what we find later, okay?"

"Thanks, Auggie."

"Okay, Jai, where's this new letter?" Auggie said, walking into the conference room they'd all been gathered in earlier that day. He'd hoped at this moment to be sitting on his newly acquired couch down in the hole still talking with Annie, rebuilding and reforging their friendship.

"Joshua's got it, Auggie," Joan said, her voice as tired as Annie's had been earlier. "Joshua? Make it quick."

The techie nodded. He could tell by his earlier experience and the looks on his coworkers' faces that if he didn't talk, talk fast, and impart the information he'd gained quickly, he'd be looking for a new job soon.

"Understood, Director. The paper, Braille writing and prints were all the same as the previous letter. Lillian Duchamp authored this letter as well as the first one. Auggie, here's the letter, if you'd like to read it," Joshua said, putting the heavy sheet into the man's hands.

"So nobody else here has figured out how to read Braille?" Auggie said, smirking. "Going to have to remember that for the future."

"Auggie, please," Joan warned.

"Just kidding, Joan," Auggie said, placing his fingers on the page.

_"My dearest August._

_Why are you avoiding me? Is it because of that little mishap with your friend last night? I had no choice, my love. She attacked me, and I was only defending myself. Please come back home, my darling. I need you._

_Your, Lilybelle."_

Auggie felt the need to crumble the heavy paper in his hands or rip it into shreds, but instead he handed it back over to Joshua.

"Well, that didn't tell us much of anything," Jai said, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, it did," Joan said. "She's waiting for you to go home."

"So why doesn't Metro sit on the place until she comes back with another letter and pick her up then?" Jai asked.

"You know," Auggie said, turning to the huddled group. "Why don't we give her what she wants?"

"Explain," Joan said, crossing her arms in front of her.

"She wants me, right? So my plan is, I go home, wait for her to knock on the door. When she does, you guys jump on her, and we pick her up," Auggie said.

"A bit simplistic, Auggie," Joan sighed. "What if she's armed? And your hallway and building has few hiding places."

Auggie frowned, but she was right. His choice of apartments had been mostly for the layout and access, not for fugitive apprehension. The room fell into silence as everyone racked their brains for a quick solution to the predicament.

"My father used to take me hunting when I was a kid," Joshua piped up. As all the eyes in the room turned toward him, he wondered why they looked at him as if he'd grown a second head.

Joan broke the awkward silence. "Any reason why that would be relevant to our current situation, Joshua?"

"Well, deer are a creature of habit, you know. You can't just lay a bread trail for them and expect them to follow it to your blind," he said, shrugging. Then, as mouths began dropping open, and he swore Jai took a step toward him, he continued talking. "We had to find out where they went, their patterns, and follow them, wait for them."

"Joshua, please –" Joan said.

"All I'm saying is, if you want to catch Lillian Duchamp, you should just do what you did before, and lure her out. Don't spook her, or she'll go running off into the trees – or into the city, I mean," Joshua said. After another minute of silence, he wished he hadn't spoken at all, and then Auggie spoke.

"Huh, you know, he's right," Auggie said.

"What part of that convoluted story did you take as correct, Anderson?" Jai scoffed.

Auggie chose to ignore Jai's jibe and turned to Joan. "We're over-thinking this whole thing. As far as Lillian Duchamp is concerned, I'm a blind hook-up from years ago that she believes has been waiting for her all these years. Her attack on Annie was strictly out of jealousy and more than likely a psychosis of some sort."

"Go on," Joan said, intrigued.

"We've gotta do what Josh pointed out, though in a perhaps a roundabout way. Resume our actions, and when she shows again, that's when we nab her," Auggie said with a grin of satisfaction.

"'Our actions' meaning what, exactly?" Jai asked.

"Annie and I were out that night, and Lillian probably saw us and followed us back to the apartment, where she attacked. Let's do it again, and see if she shows," Auggie said.

Joan nodded, "Though I'm not fond of putting the two of you out on the street this way –"

"Annie wasn't expecting to be attacked, Joan," Auggie interrupted. "Once her guard is up, she'll be better able to protect herself."

"As I was saying," Joan said with more emphasis, "I don't want to put you on display, but we need to get this woman out of the way. We've got actual CIA work to concentrate on, and Annie will be needed. Having her stuck down in the hole like this is extremely counterproductive."

Auggie smiled, but made sure he projected a certain amount of chagrin for interrupting his boss. "Agreed, Joan. She's sleeping now. I'll fill her in on our plans tomorrow."

Letting himself into his accommodations for the second and hopefully final night, Auggie tried to make as little noise as possible. He slid his sneakers off and pulled his sweatshirt and tee off, dropping both on the couch as he walked as quietly as he could to his bed.

He'd sat down and was adjusting his pillow when Annie spoke.

"So, what did you find out?"

The pillow nearly slipped out of his grasp as he was fluffing it. "Annie, you're supposed to be sleeping."

Annie giggled a bit and turned on her side, facing him. The lamp in the corner was still on, throwing the room and the corner where the beds were located into shadows. She could just make out his form as he placed the pillow back onto the bed and laid down.

"Have you been awake this entire time?"

"Yeah," Annie said. "Kept thinking about what to do about all this."

Auggie pulled his blanket over himself and turned on his side toward her. "Well, you can stop thinking and rest easy. We've got a plan."

"Oh, really? And what, pray tell, have you all decided to do with me?" Annie asked.

"Nothing you haven't done already," Auggie said. "Joshua thought of it, actually. We're going to resume what we were doing the night you were attacked, and hopefully, it'll get her to drop her guard and draw her out."

Annie eyebrows rose at his words. "We're going to resume what we were doing, huh? Does that mean you're going to get drunk again and accost me in the street?"

"What? No, Annie, of course not," Auggie protested, sitting up quickly.

Annie started laughing softly at his reaction, and said, "I'm joking, Auggie. I think I know what you mean. Lillian came back for you after getting out of prison, saw me with you, and got jealous and attacked. So we're going to replay the scenario, hoping for the same response from her, but with a different outcome, of course."

Laying back down again, Auggie threw a mock frown over at her. "Exactly. I think Joan's a bit frustrated at having one of her best agents sequestered."

"So is one of her best agents."

"Not enjoying your time in the hole, huh?" Auggie asked.

Annie smiled, "Well, the company's not too bad, but I'd rather be in my own bed, to tell you the truth."

"Same here," Auggie said. "So you're on board with our plan, then?"

"I guess so. The sooner we get beyond all this, the sooner we can get back to our lives."

"Umm, do you –" Auggie said, wondering how he could phrase what he needed to ask her.

"Do I what, Auggie?"

"We are going to have to appear as a couple," he said, trying to make his question as light as possible. "Would you mind? I mean, if we had to kiss and such?"

Had her best friend asked her that question a few days ago, Annie would have thought it sweet and considerate. Now, though, the question hung in the air with so much romantic tension attached to it, she hesitated before answering.

She knew the answer, of course, and had lay in bed since he'd left thinking about what would happen once Lillian Duchamp was out of the picture, and she and Auggie went back to their jobs and homes. He'd opened himself up to her, and she felt so close to him at that moment, she'd nearly yelled at Jai to get out when he'd interrupted.

"Annie?"

Turning back to him, Annie smiled a bit as an unaccustomed wave of shyness colored her cheeks. "No, Auggie, I wouldn't mind kissing you at all."

Chapter 8

Auggie felt a bit of self-satisfaction as Annie's hand slipped around his upper arm. The touch was familiar, yet somehow seemed new. No longer the grasp of a friend walking with him down the halls of the DPD, her fingers held onto his bicep with a tighter grip.

Ever since last night, when he'd made the decision to lay his life out to her, he'd been living in hope that she'd realize the enormity of the gift he'd given to her. Himself. He'd tried at first to rebuff her questions about him with a joke, but she'd stalked off. He knew at that moment that if he didn't do it then, if he didn't give her what she wanted, what she asked for, he'd probably lose her.

So he did, and she listened. She didn't judge him; she didn't say a word. She'd only leaned over and kissed him. He had to bite his tongue to keep from responding to the knee-buckling gesture.

And then Jai had to come and break the spell that had wound around them both. Though they'd been interrupted, one good thing came out of Jai's intrusion. They had a plan to end this, and hopefully by tomorrow morning, everything would be back to normal.

"Good, you're here," Joan said, spying the smiling couple in the hallway. Joan had to use all of her discipline to hide the smirk she felt building in her cheeks. Just 24 hours earlier, the pair made the air around them drop 20 degrees with their animosity. Now they seemed like the Annie and Auggie of old, if not closer. Huh, she thought. Maybe she'd speak to Arthur about renting the Hole out for couples counseling.

"The metro cops are here to brief us on what they want to happen. The apprehension of Lillian Duchamp falls in their jurisdiction, so it's their op."

Annie nodded, and with a reassuring squeeze of Auggie's bicep, the pair followed Joan into the conference room where the normal array of agents and support personnel were gathered. Two new faces, though, stood out.

"Detectives Nathan Long and Samantha Watters, this is Annie Walker and August Anderson," Joan said.

Annie nodded to the imposing pair, dropping her hand off of Auggie's arm.

"Ms. Walker, you were the one Duchamp attacked, correct?" Detective Long said.

"Yes, she used a stun gun on me, on my neck. I was rendered unconscious for several minutes."

Detective Watters hissed through her teeth. "Damn, girl. You're lucky not to have permanent damage."

Annie smiled at the woman, liking her instantly. "It was very painful. I couldn't move properly for about an hour after. Thankfully, Auggie was there to help me."

Detective Long swung his gaze from the pretty blonde to the sightless man standing to her right. "Anderson, I understand from both yours and Ms. Walker's statements that Duchamp was an ex of yours?"

"Yes, but from years ago. We, uhh – what I mean to say is that –"

"Your statement details that you met Duchamp at a bar, spent the night together, and she disappeared the morning after," Detective Long summarized.

"Yes," Auggie said, thankful that the man sanitized it so effortlessly.

"From what we can figure out from the timeline, after she left your apartment, she was still drunk, ran a stoplight and got involved in the accident that took the life of another woman. She was arrested and has been in the district's custody since that night until a week ago," Detective Long stated.

Joan nodded, "That's what we've ascertained, as well."

"The address Duchamp provided to the correctional facility upon her release, unfortunately, was bogus. When we were contacted about her attack on you, Ms. Walker, that was the first place we went. It turned out to be a foreclosed house set for demolition."

"So you don't know where she is?" Annie asked, feeling a bit of nervousness overtake her.

"Not now, no," Detective Long said, frowning. "The second letter left for Mr. Anderson at his apartment shows that she's still in the area, though, and still in pursuit of a – I guess a relationship with you."

"She'll be sorely disappointed," Auggie said.

"Director Campbell spoke to us about your plan to replay the night of the attack, go out into the open and see if this woman approaches you again. Are you still in favor of this?" Detective Long asked.

Both Auggie and Annie nodded.

"Very well," Detective Long said. "Both myself and Detective Watters will shadow you, tonight, along with a few plainclothes officers. Did you have a specific destination in mind?"

"We were at Allen's Tavern that night, I was driving, and then I dropped Auggie off at his apartment," Annie said. "Should we just do that again?"

Both the detectives nodded.

"I want this woman apprehended," Joan said. "We cannot afford to have all this time spent hiding from such a deranged individual."

"Don't you worry," Detective Watters piped up. "The DA has been doing a slow burn since the judge let her off with only three years. He'd like nothing more than to see her locked up for a good, long stretch."

As the group broke up around them, Auggie felt Annie's hands wind around his arm again. Then her forehead touched his shoulder. "Hey, you okay?"

"Just want all this to be over," Annie said quietly, lifting her head.

"It will be soon," Auggie said. Then he laughed. "Seems a bit anticlimatic having the metro police department set up our date."

"So this is a date," Annie said, arching an eyebrow. "And here, I thought it was just two friends having a drink after work."

"We've gotten beyond the friend zone, Annie," Auggie said quietly, tilting his head down to her. "At least, after all this is over, I'd like to think we have."

Annie took a shuddery breath at his nearness and wished they were back in the hole, or even better, back at his apartment. "We'll see, Auggie. After tonight?"

Auggie nodded, and straightened, turning to Joan again.

"You two be careful," their boss said. "Metro will have your back, but don't let your guard down for one second. I refuse to let some starry-eyed psycho take out my people."

"We will, Joan," Auggie said.

They were nearing tech ops when Annie spotted Joshua across the room. "I'll talk to you later, Auggie, okay?"

"Sure, Annie," he replied, missing the touch of her hands on his arm as she walked away.

The techie stood against the wall with an open folder in front of him, reading, when Annie approached. As she got within a couple feet of him, she cleared her throat. "Excuse me, Joshua, was it?"

"Oh, yeah, hi, Annie," Joshua said, closing the file. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"You've done more than enough," Annie said, smiling at him. "I just wanted to thank you personally for all the extra work you've done."

Joshua blushed a little at Annie's words. "Oh, it's no problem."

"You went above and beyond, and you know it," Annie pressed.

"Auggie's a friend," Joshua said. "And when Director Campbell came in with that first letter and said you'd been attacked, I knew he'd expect me to work nonstop until I'd wrung every bit of information out of that piece of evidence that I could."

Annie frowned, "Yeah, Arthur's got that effect on people."

"Not him," Joshua said, shaking his head. "Auggie. If I had given less than my best on this case, he'd never let me hear the end of it."

Annie wanted to disagree with him, to say she wouldn't think Auggie would do such a thing, but another part of her wondered at the man's words. "You really think so?"

"Of course," Joshua said. "And even without Director Campbell's threat, I'd do anything to make sure you stayed safe. You safe makes Auggie happy, and that's something all of us around here appreciate."

Annie must have allowed her confusion to show on her face because Joshua looked around and then took a step closer, lowering his voice. "You probably wouldn't know this, but before you came here, Auggie, well – let's just say I'm surprised there aren't more Lillian Duchamps falling at his feet."

Annie's mouth fell open a bit as the meaning of his words sunk in. "Joshua, I'm not sure I understand what you're saying."

Joshua chuckled. "Wish I had a nickel every time I heard that. Auggie just seems happier than he has been in the past, more at ease, more grounded. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why."

Placing his hand on her shoulder, Joshua said, "Gotta get back down to the lab. Good luck, Annie."

Chapter 9

Allen's Tavern was just as loud and busy as it was two nights ago, and Annie gripped Auggie's arm with both hands as they walked through the doors. The nervous gesture marked the only tell that showed as the couple weaved through the crowd to the bar.

"Do you want to sit here, or should we find a booth?" Auggie asked, dipping his head down to whisper in her ear.

Annie looked around at the crowd, her eyes automatically scanning for the dark-haired woman she'd seen in the mugshot Joshua had shown them the other day. Turning her head so her lips were near his ear, she whispered, "I think a booth would be easier to talk in, and easier to watch the crowd."

"Then lead the way, sweetheart," Auggie whispered back, his cheek brushing against hers as he did.

It took a bit of maneuvering to get them both past the laughing and talking bodies, but Annie soon found an empty small booth that'd allow them to sit and talk, and Annie to watch the crowd.

Auggie could feel the energy pulsing off of her as they walked to the booth, and as she slid in, he followed. Her fingers automatically started tapping against the wood of the table, and he slid his hand out to still them. "Relax, Annie."

Turning her hand into his, Annie allowed his fingers to intertwine with hers. Just the touch of his hand on hers calmed her. "I'll try."

"Anything I can get you to drink?"

Annie looked up at the waitress, only to find the female detective she'd met earlier standing before her, clad now in the white dress shirt and short black skirt of the tavern's wait staff. "Yeah, a couple of beers, please."

"Coming right up," Detective Watters said, then leaning down as to place a bowl of pretzels on the table, whispered, "Relax and enjoy yourself. Half the crowd is law enforcement, you know."

Auggie grinned and squeezed Annie's hand before releasing it and sitting back, laying his arm along the back of the seat. "See, Annie, even if Lillian does come through, she won't even make it past the bar."

"I guess you're right," Annie said, laughing and leaning back, as well. Her shoulders brushed against his outstretched arm, and she felt his hand curl around until it touched her shoulder. "I talked to Joshua today."

"Yeah?" Auggie asked, his fingers lazily drawing circles along the silk of her blouse.

"Mm, just wanted to personally thank him for working all night."

"He is very good at his job," Auggie said. "With or without Arthur's threat, he would have worked just as hard."

Auggie's fingers were doing wonderful things to Annie's nervous system, lighting little sparks that emanated down her arm and across her shoulders. An unbidden thought flittered across her mind, as she wondered how his fingers would feel on other parts of her body not hindered by layers of cloth.

"Mm," Annie said, leaning her head to the side until her cheek rested close to his shoulder. "I don't think so. I think he had another motive in mind."

"And what would that be?" Auggie asked, bending his elbow slightly and scooting an inch closer to her. Her head now lay directly on his shoulder, his hip touching hers.

"He said something about you being easier to live with for the past year. You have any idea what he was talking about?" Annie asked, looking up to his face which now hovered several inches from her own.

Auggie smiled. He knew very well what Joshua was hinting at. "Yeah, I do."

"Care to share?" Annie teased.

"Yeah, I do," Auggie whispered, leaning towards her 'til his forehead brushed hers. "You make me happy."

Then, with another crook of his elbow, Auggie tilted her face up until their noses brushed, and he lightly touched his lips to hers, The effect was electric and instantaneous, but given their audience and reason for being there, he held himself back from engulfing her completely in his arms and indulging in a deeper taste of her.

He'd had a hint of it two nights ago, but his ardor was fueled and fostered by the Patron he'd drunk. The real thing, he found, was infinitely sweeter and promising, as he felt Annie's hand touch his jaw and spread back to his neck, fingers tangling in his hair.

Annie wished at that moment that he'd hadn't kissed her outside her car before, as the way his lips felt on hers now, it'd probably go down in history as the best first romantic kiss. In that instant, the past melted away, and the future didn't matter.

Auggie's mouth tilted a fraction of an inch before brushing against hers again. She reciprocated, kissing him back with a soft sigh.

He could have stayed there forever, enjoying the exquisite sweetness of her, but the sound of a bottle hitting wood broke them apart.

Annie opened her eyes to see Detective Watters setting their beers on the table with a raised eyebrow. "Anything else I can get you two?"

"No, that'll be all," Annie replied, a slow blush coloring her cheeks.

She watched as the woman walked away with a smile, and glanced around the room. Several heads were turned their way, and though she didn't recognize the majority of the faces, the looks on their faces showed they knew her and Auggie.

"People are staring at us," she whispered, dropping her hand from his neck.

Groaning at the loss of her touch, Auggie tucked his head into the crook of her neck. "Are we ever going to catch a break?" he mumbled, inhaling at a spot beneath her ear where her scent seemed to emanate from.

Annie allowed herself to enjoy the shivery goosebumps his breath against her neck caused before pulling away. She stayed closed beside him, though, his arm safe and warm over her shoulders. "After all this, I promise," she replied, squeezing his denim-covered thigh before picking up her beer.

"Right now, we're going to enjoy each other's company," she said, lifting the bottle to her lips.

"I was doing that a minute ago," Auggie teased, reaching for his own beer. "But you're right. One mission at a time. Anything in particular you want to talk about?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is," Annie said, turning a suspicious eye toward him. "When Joan was driving us back to headquarters the other night, you said something that I'd been wondering about ever since."

"What's that?"

"Well, she was explaining to me what the Hole was, and you said you've 'slipped down there a time or two,'" Annie said. "Care to explain yourself?"

Auggie's eyes widened at her question, and he nearly choked on the mouthful of beer he'd just consumed. "Why, Annie, what are you insinuating?"

"Uh-uh, no jokes, no talking around the subject," Annie said. "I really want to know what you mean."

Auggie nodded. He knew exactly what she thought he meant, given the snort of laughter he'd heard in the car when he'd said it. "I've gone down there during long operations to grab a couple hours of sleep," he explained.

"Oh," Annie said simply. Then, as a flush of embarrassment lit up her cheeks, she said, "I thought – well, I'm sure you know what I thought. And I'm sorry."

"No need. I haven't given you much reason to believe otherwise," he said.

A couple of hours later, after which they'd shared a plate of nachos and one more beer each, Annie caught the attention of their "waitress" and nodded toward the door, notifying her of their departure. Though she and Auggie had spent the time talking and laughing, Lillian Duchamp was not seen by either her nor the assembled law enforcement officers.

"Still doesn't prove anything, as she might be waiting for you outside, or at your place," Annie whispered to him as they walked out, her arm firmly around his waist; his arm draped around her shoulders.

Auggie heard the apprehension in her voice, and as they cleared the doorway and met with the cooler night air, he said, "And we'll be ready for her, Annie. Metro will be with us the whole way, up to and until we're safely home."

"Speaking of that," Annie said as they walked down the sidewalk to her car, "Am I accompanying you into your apartment?"

"You did last time," Auggie said quietly, "Though I remember you leaving me with a kiss on my forehead and a promise to see me at work the next day."

They'd reached her car, and Annie stopped them, pulling her keys from her pocket. "Even with police protection, I'd feel safer with you if she doesn't show tonight," Annie said, pressing the unlock button.

Auggie's arm clenched around her shoulders at her words, and a sense of déjà vu swept over Annie as he pulled her into his embrace. This time, though, he wasn't slurring his words, and she was more than willing when he'd taken a few steps forward until she was pressed against the side of her car, its cool hardness a far cry from the warmth pressing against her front.

"Then I'll ask my question again," Auggie breathed into her hair, placing both hands along her jaw. "Can I talk you into coming to my place tonight, Annie?"

Nodding her assent, as she didn't trust her voice at this point, Annie wrapped both arms around his waist and ran her hands up the firm muscles of his back. A slow smile spread across Auggie's face as he lowered his mouth to hers, finally giving into the desire and attraction he'd been fighting all night.

Annie's fingers gripped into the material of Auggie's jacket as his hands tilted her head, and he kissed her. She'd had a taste of his passion the other night, but had steadfastly refused to let herself enjoy it given his inebriation and her sober state. Now, though, they'd both only had a couple of beers, and their minds were clear.

She felt the evidence of his passion hard against her as his body pressed hers against the car. It lit her own desire, and she gasped and moaned into his mouth.

"Auggie," she murmured against his lips, pulling back a fraction of an inch to catch her breath.

"Mm," Auggie said, breathing deep, as well, before trailing his mouth along her jaw to that point below her ear where she'd dabbed her perfume. He inhaled deeply, and wrapping his arms around her shoulders, pulled her closer to him.

Annie shivered again as his breath and lips lit a fire along her neck and down her spine. Her eyes fluttered open, and she lay her cheek against his shoulder, striving to catch her breath.

The dimly lit sidewalk and lit storefronts lay before her, the harsh lighting throwing shadows between the buildings. A small glint of light that Annie first took as a lighter being flicked or a glint off a shiny surface flared in one of the shadows.

As it came again, and began moving out of a shadowed recess, attached to the black-clad arm of a slowly advancing person, Annie froze in Auggie's embrace.

"Auggie," she said, quietly but with clear intention, "she's here."

Chapter 10

As soon as the words left Annie's mouth, she felt Auggie freeze. She did, as well, but he lifted his mouth from her neck and pressed his cheek against hers, his lips right next to her ear.

"I can hear something, the stun gun again?" he whispered hurriedly.

Annie nodded subtly.

"Can you disarm her?"

Another nod. Hell, yes, Annie wanted to shout, as Lillian Duchamp came closer to them. The woman, smaller than she'd imagined, was dressed in a black hoodie and jeans, her long curly black hair sticking out around her head like some kind of demented halo.

Her right hand stuck out from her body, the stun gun now completely visible, an arch of electricity leaping from its electrodes. Two nights ago, this woman, this pathetic piece of psychotic trash, had rendered Annie unconscious, helpless, and left her like a piece of trash outside Auggie's door.

Unfortunately for her, Annie thought, her target was not some weak new girlfriend Lillian obviously thought she was. Anger flared up in Annie's mind, anger at the woman who'd caused her so much pain – physical and emotional. She'd threatened her, which Annie couldn't care less about, but even worse, she threatened Auggie. Even prior to their new attachment to each other, Annie would fight anyone who threatened her best friend.

But now? Now this woman was trying to take away her newfound love, and Annie refused to allow that to happen.

"Step aside, Auggie. I've got some butt-kicking to take care of," Annie whispered, and she felt him nod against her neck.

Just as Lillian came within two feet of them, her arm extended in front of her, sparks dancing crazily out of the stun gun, Annie pushed Auggie to the side. He took her movement and crouched down, allowing Annie the room to attack.

Lillian had gotten close enough now to Annie where she saw otherwise beautiful features twisted into an ugly mix of hatred and jealousy. Her light blue eyes widened, and her step faltered a bit as Auggie smoothly slid away from Annie.

The split second hesitation was all the time Annie needed, as Lillian's eyes shifted from her to Auggie's crouched form on the sidewalk. With one smooth move, she leaned back, placing all her weight on her right leg, and kicked out quickly with her left, aiming directly for the outstretched hand.

As her stiletto'd heel caught Lillian's wrist, the woman shrieked in pain, and the stun gun went clattering onto the ground, its sparking ceasing. Lillian's eyes swung around to Annie, and with another shriek – this one full of rage – she launched herself at the blonde.

Annie swiftly caught the woman's hands as they reached for her neck, but the power behind them knocked her slightly off balance, and she staggered back a couple of steps, her back colliding with her car door. She grunted with the pain, but didn't take her eyes off Lillian, nor did she release her grip on her wrists.

Though Annie had wanted to take the woman down, or at the least, scratch her eyes out, she held back, content to hold her at bay until their backup arrived.

"Let go of me, you bitch!" Lillian screamed.

Auggie surmised from what he'd heard of the fight that Lillian was now unarmed, but with Annie's grunt of pain, and now Lillian's screeching voice, he stood, and with one step, came upon the grappling women. He wrapped his arms around Lillian's torso, adjusting his grasp and stance until she was no longer moving.

Once Auggie had pulled Lillian away from her, Annie released her grip on her wrists.

"Auggie?"

The southern drawl of his name was so akin to what he heard from her lips three years ago, Auggie nearly loosened his grip on the woman.

"Auggie, my darling, why are you doing this to me?"

"Hold still, Lillian," Auggie said, tightening his grip around her upper arms, forcing the woman's back against his chest.

"Lillian? You used to call me Lilybelle, don't you remember? Has it been so long? I missed you, Auggie. I missed being in your arms like this. Why did you forsake me?"

Annie was nearly sick with revulsion at the woman's cooing words, and even more as Lillian began to rub herself against Auggie's body. She turned her head toward the bar's entrance to see their backup leaving and approaching them quickly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw another flash of light, and she whipped her head back around to Auggie and Lillian.

What she thought was maybe another stun gun Lillian had in her pocket, Annie quickly saw that it was, in fact, a small handgun that she'd somehow extricated from her jacket pocket as Auggie held her.

"No!" Annie screamed, launching at the woman as she lifted the revolver across her body, aiming at Auggie, even within his tight hold.

With a speed she didn't even know she possessed, Annie grabbed Lillian's hand with both of hers and twisted the firearm away from where it was aimed at Auggie's face. Lillian screamed again in rage, and Annie's ears rang as the gun discharged into the air by her ear. She screamed, as well, out of fright, but never released her hold on Lillian's hand.

The gun's loud report and Annie's scream startled Auggie, and he shouted her name. "Annie!" When she didn't reply, a cold fear launched up his spine, even as Lillian continued to struggle in his grasp. "Annie!"

The approach of heavy footsteps and shouting of several people echoed around them. Lillian continued to screech, her words now unintelligible, as many hands landed on her, pulling her from Auggie's grip. A sudden, painful twist of her wrist caused her fingers to loosen, and the gun slid from her fingers.

Annie caught the firearm before it could drop to the ground and watched as the detectives and other plainclothes officers wrestled the small, flailing woman out of Auggie's arms and onto the ground. She panted as the rush of adrenaline began to wear off, and took a deep breath to calm herself.

A hand on her arm brought her gaze back up, and she saw Auggie reaching for her, his face full of worry. With a gasp of pent up emotion, she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Auggie caught her as she fell into his arms, and he fought back a sting of tears as his arms wrapped around her back. "I heard a gun go off, were you hit?"

Annie shook her head into his shoulder. "No, she must have had it in her pocket. When you were holding her, she pulled it out, and –" Her breath hitched in her throat as she pulled back a little to look up at his face. "Oh, God, Auggie, she tried to shoot you."

Auggie shuddered at the prospect, then smiled. "But you saved me."

"All this time, we thought she was after me, but do you think –"

"Shh, Annie, we'll think about that later," Auggie said, pressing a quick kiss against her lips.

"Excuse me, Miss Walker?" Detective Watters said, walking up to the embracing couple. "We have her handcuffed and retrieved the stun gun. Do you still have –"

"Oh, yes," Annie said, pulling out of Auggie's embrace and placing the firearm into the detective's hand.

"You did good work there. Sure we can't talk you into switching sides, joining the force?" she asked.

Annie smiled, but shook her head.

The detective shrugged her shoulders. "We'll be taking Miss Duchamp down to the station to book her and charge her. Normally we'd like to have the victims come, as well, to give formal statements, but –"

"Is it okay if we put that off until tomorrow?" Auggie asked, sliding a possessive arm around Annie's waist.

"Of course. Considering we all witnessed the events, Miss Duchamp won't be going anywhere soon. You weren't hurt at all, were you? Do we need to call emergency services, or –"

"No, I'm fine," Annie said, leaning against Auggie as exhaustion and the evening's events began to take its toll on her.

"Very well. We'll be in touch with you tomorrow, then," Detective Watters said, walking away.

"It's over," Annie whispered, dropping her forehead against Auggie's shoulder. His hands came up her arms and slid along her shoulders until they'd reached her neck, gliding up to gently cup her jaw.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, really," Annie said. "Can we just go home now?"

"Well, that depends," Auggie said, his thumbs gliding along her cheekbones. "Whose home are you referring to?"

"Whose home do you think?" Annie whispered, leaning forward until their lips nearly touched. "Unless, of course, you'd like to go back to headquarters and see if those small beds can accommodate two people."

Auggie groaned as her words and proximity sent a warmth through him that settled somewhere below his belt. A brilliant scene flashed in his highly active imagination, of him and Annie in a tight embrace –the only one that would allow them both to stretch out on the twin-sized bed – sans clothing while they held each other.

"Sounds tempting," Auggie said, his lips flitting against hers as he talked. "But you do know my bed is a king-size, right?"

Annie nodded, her heartbeat racing at the prospect of spending the night in his arms, in his apartment, in his bed. "Take me home, Auggie."

Chapter 11

Midnight had just passed when Annie pulled herself up on her elbow and took a look around. A light from the living room cast the only glow through Auggie's apartment. Its glow casting shadows over the jackets, shoes, shirts, pants and underwear that lay in almost a straight line from the door to where she and Auggie were now – his bed. She wasn't sure if it was the rush of adrenaline from grappling with Lillian for her stun gun, and then her pistol, or the relief that it was all over that had caused her to grab Auggie as they'd passed the threshold of his apartment.

Perhaps a mix of both. And, she reminded herself, she wasn't the only one in such a keen hurry to divest herself of her clothes. Auggie had grabbed her at the same moment, and for the next few minutes, jostled for dominance as they ripped each other's clothes off.

That was three hours ago, and they lay now, naked and sated, in his king-sized bed under his silky comforter. His eyes were closed, but Annie had a feeling he wasn't yet sleeping, only regaining his breath from their last round.

Snuggling back to his side, Annie ran a finger up his chest. A low growl proved her theory that he wasn't yet sleeping. "You know, I think I prefer 'thank you for saving my life' sex over 'sorry my ex tried to kill you' sex," she said, dragging her nails along his pecs.

Auggie's hand grasped hers, and he tangled his fingers with hers and tugged, pulling her further up against him, across his chest. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Annie adjusted her new position, tucking her leg in between his, a self-satisfied smile on her lips as he groaned. "I'm positive."

"Hmm, how about a third option?"

Annie dropped her head on his chest, "Oh, God. I'm not sure I can move now, but what did you have in mind?"

Releasing her hand, Auggie turned until they were side-by-side, his arm tucked around her, while the the fingers of the other traced along her jaw. "How about 'sorry I got so anxious about this three nights ago that I got drunk and tried to accost you in the street' sex?"

Annie blinked and swallowed before saying, "Wow."

"Sounds promising, huh?" Auggie grinned, tracing his hand down her shoulder and arm before settling on her waist.

"No, I mean, even before we went to have a drink that night, you wanted to – you wanted this?"

Auggie nodded, "Then I had to go and screw it up."

Annie leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. "Why didn't you just say something?"

"You'll laugh," Auggie said, shaking his head.

"Auggie."

That one word, the way she said his name, brought him to his knees, and he shivered as her hand cupped his jaw and pulled his head up. "I was nervous," he said, chuckling a bit at his own confession. "As nervous as a 14-year-old boy on his first date trying to get to second base."

"Aww, that's so cute."

Auggie clenched his fingers on her hip, causing her to giggle. "Annie."

"Okay, okay, I give," Annie said, as his fingers released her. "But you could have said something. I wouldn't have laughed."

"I didn't know that, but it doesn't matter. You turned me down, anyway."

"'Cause you were drunk," Annie reminded him. "And I wasn't. I didn't want you to wake up with any regrets."

"Regrets?" Auggie said, contemplating her words. "Really? You think you'd regret this?"

Annie took a breath in, and it stuck as Auggie's hand slid further down. Whatever plans he had were stalled as his phone began to ring.

"Who in the hell is calling in the middle of the night?" Auggie growled.

The answer came two seconds later, when his phone announced the caller.

"Joan Campbell."

It repeated a few more times before Auggie was able to stretch over to his nightstand and pick the offending device from its cradle.

He laid on his back, Annie curling up into his side as he pressed the talk button.

"Hello?"

"Auggie, It's Joan. Do you know where Annie is?"

Curling his arm around her back, Auggie pulled her closer to him. "Yeah, Joan."

"Metro just contacted me about Duchamp. She's in custody, apparently?"

"Yeah, Joan, we –"

"What the hell happened?" Joan's voice rang through the line, startling both of them. "I've been trying to get a hold of Annie. Metro said she left, but –"

"Joan, Joan!" Auggie shouted. "She's here with me."

"Well, why didn't you just say so?"

Auggie rolled his eyes and clapped his hand over Annie's mouth as she began to giggle.

"You're both okay, then?"

"Yes, Joan, we're fine. We told the detectives we'd be in tomorrow to give our statements."

"I'll also want a full write-up, due noon tomorrow."

"Of course, Joan. We'll see you tomorrow."

Auggie stretched again, placing the cordless back into its receiver. He then turned back to Annie, resuming their position before they were interrupted. "Now, where were we? Ahh, yes. I was apologizing for – what was it again?"

"How about you letting me do one?" Annie asked.

"Oh, okay," Auggie said, smiling broadly.

"Calm down, soldier boy. Just listen to me," Annie said. Cupping his face with both of her hands, she pressed a light kiss to his lips. "I'm sorry for ever thinking you would treat me as a one night stand. You're right, I do know you, and I know that, no matter how this happened, whatever circumstances brought us to this, it's real. It's here. We're here. And we made it."

"Wow," Auggie whispered, moved to his core at the sincerity of her words.

"That's all you have to say?" Annie said, chuckling.

"I'm speechless, to tell you the truth," Auggie said. "How about I just show you?"

Annie reached down and grabbed his descending fingers and brought them up to her lips, kissing his palm. "Don't you think we should get some sleep? Joan's expecting us in the morning, and we still have to give our statements to metro."

Auggie nodded, settling onto his back while she curled again to his side. "To be continued, then?"

"God, Auggie," Annie said, laying her head on his shoulder and throwing her arm around his chest. "How much more apologizing do you have to do?"

THE END


End file.
